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Ergo
Ergo (እርጎ): thick, tangy soured milk to cool spicy food or eat on its own with a spoon
Cattle-keeping families across rural Ethiopia leave fresh milk to thicken in smoked clay pots or gourds, and the result, ergo, is tangier and looser than yoghurt, somewhere between set buttermilk and a soft curd. It is spooned beside a spicy kitfo or wat to calm the heat, eaten for breakfast with bread, or drunk as it is on hot afternoons. The traditional way relies on raw milk souring by itself, which is not safe to copy at home; this version uses pasteurised whole milk with a spoon of live buttermilk or yoghurt as the starter, so the right bacteria do the work. Allow about 24 hours at room temperature for it to set. Chef's tip: keep it somewhere steady at 22–26 °C; too cool and it barely thickens, too warm and it separates into whey and lumps.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 5
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups pasteurised whole milknot UHT, which sets thinner
- 4 tbsp cultured buttermilkor 2 tbsp live plain yoghurt, with live cultures on the label
- 1 pinch salt (optional)to serve
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Scald a 1.2-litre glass jar or bowl and its lid with boiling water and let it drain dry; a clean jar keeps unwanted bacteria out.
Step 2: Warm 4 ¼ cups pasteurised whole milk in a pan over a low heat to about 86°F, lukewarm on your finger, about 4 minutes. Pour it into the jar.
4 minStep 3: Stir in 4 tbsp cultured buttermilk thoroughly, cover loosely with the lid or a clean cloth, and leave on a worktop away from draughts and direct sun.
Step 4: Leave undisturbed for 18–24 hours, until the milk has set to a soft, wobbly curd that comes away from the side in one piece and smells pleasantly sour, like fresh yoghurt. Stirring or moving it while it sets is the common mistake: it breaks the curd and makes it watery.
1440 minStep 5: Chill for at least 2 hours to firm up. Keep it in the fridge and eat within 5 days; discard any batch that smells off, turns pink or grey, or grows mould.
Step 6: Stir until smooth, add 1 pinch salt if you like it the savoury way, and serve cold beside spicy dishes. Save 4 tbsp from this batch as the starter for the next.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 130 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ergo take?
- About 15 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 5 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of pasteurised whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of cultured buttermilk?
- Milk with lemon juice or white vinegar: 1 tbsp per 240ml (1 cup) milk, left for 5 minutes.
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